Being Beta
by CalicoCath
Summary: Aria Blaze has always been second. Sonata Dusk has always been the dumbest. Life is not always easy when you fall under these categories, and quite often do these girls find themselves questioning who they are. In this crazy adventure of friendship, betrayal, humor and even romance, Aria tries to break free from being under Adagio's shadow, while Sonata proves everything she is.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

_ Aria Blaze swayed through the crowd of adoring fans. They screamed, whistled, and clapped her name. She looked over the sea of Aria madness, and beamed at the neon posters._

_ "We love you Aria!"_

_ "Two-four-six-eight, who do we appreciate…?"_

_ "Go Aria!" The cafeteria was a mad house._

_ In the back, her two best friends, Adagio Dazzle and Sonata Dusk, are there to support her. Sonata waved a large foam finger from her seat, shouting. Although the finger read "Seaside High Seahorses", Aria still appreciated the encouragement. She walked over to them, holding her lunch tray, and smiling. She sat it down at the table and slid into an empty seat next to her friends._

_ "Hey guys-"_

_ "Aria! Aria, could you sign my napkin?" Two girls came running up to their table, smiles spreading to the tips of their cheeks._

_ "Oh! Sure thing!"_

_ After sixteen more autographs, Aria finally turned back to her friends._

_ "Whew! So many fans! So what have you guys been up to?"_

_ Adagio mumbled something, her voice over powered by the noise in the cafeteria. Aria leaned in closer._

_ "What?"_

_ "I said, '_Are you awake in there?'_?!" _

Suddenly, Aria snapped back, to see Adagio's hand waving in front of her. Sonata stood behind her, giggling.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I'm good."

Adagio raised an eyebrow, but dropped it. She pulled out her compact mirror, adding another coat of Strawberry Burst lip gloss.

"Okay girls, first impressions are the key to trust, you got it?"

Sonata nodded eagerly, jotting down something in her note pad. Aria rolled her eyes. "You don't_ need_ to take notes, Sonata."

"I know _THAT_."

"You _didn't_."

"Uh-huh!"

"Nu-uh!"

"Uh-"

Adagio whipped around at them, silencing the girls with her glare.

"We haven't been here for more than thirty minutes, and you're already acting like first graders!" She hissed. Sonata pointed accusingly at Aria.

"She started it!"

"Nuh-uh! Maybe if your weren't so _stupid_-"

"Shut up! Can't you two act sensible for more than ten seconds?!"

Sonata nodded. And then tilted her head. Then she shook her head. But it quickly turned back into a nod. Aria rolled her eyes again.

"Adagio, you're confusing her little brain." That earned her an evil eye from Sonata, but Adagio was too busy talking to the woman who was standing before them.

"Principal Celestia? Yes…. Mmm hmm…. Yes'mam."

Principal Celestia stood on long, lean legs, with flowing teal, yellow and pink hair. Her eyes shone brightly, and her smile showed no sign of hostility. Adagio finished "talking", and turned back to the girls as the principal walked back inside.

"See girls, I've got this totally under control. I also have the principal."

Aria rolled her eyes (again). Adagio and her stupid leadership. Aria knew how well _she_ could run her own clique, but the only thing that stood in her way was Adagio Dazzle. What with her "in genius" plans, bold, assertive personality, and the knack of striking fear into anyone who crossed her. Aria was sick of playing puppy dog for her. Always following her around, on a short leash and choke collar. "You can't wear that." "What were you thinking?!" "That's such a bad idea!"

"Sunset Shimmer should be meeting us here soon." Adagio said.

Sonata tilted her head in confusion.

"Wait, who?" Aria almost rolled her eyes. "Um, have you been living under a rock?" She asked.

"Ugh, Aria, take care of explaining who Miss Shimmer is." Adagio ordered. Aria wanted to snap off her leash.

"Sunset's the one who stole the princess' crown, stupid." Even Aria knew better than to disobey Adagio.


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Sonata sat at her desk, the teacher droning on about triangles or something. Why did Adagio have to sign her up for math? She knew she wasn't good at math. Or English. Or Science….

"Sonata Dusk, what will the perimeter be?" Suddenly Sonata looked up to see all eyes on her, and the teacher pointing her ruler in her direction. She quickly glanced down at her book, then at the board.

"Uh… 42?"

The teacher eyed her with enough hatred to boil a large pot of stew. Sonata flavored stew. Mrs. Trent hated dumb students. Everyone knew it, even if she had never admitted it out loud. And Sonata was dumb. Now, nobody knew that yet, but they soon would. Sonata hated school already. She hadn't been in three periods and gotten one answer right. Not ONE! She hated being stupid more than Mrs. Trent hated her.

Yes, Sonata knew she was dumb herself. She couldn't even keep up with the drama and sarcasm her friends loved so much.

"Ms. Dusk, I'll come back to you. Now, Twighlight?"

A girl with dark hair and purple highlights answered matter-of-factly,

"12." Darn. Sonata slumped lower into her desk.

"Sonata, were have you been?" Adagio barked right as she spotted her from the hallway.

"Well, uh Mrs. Trent held me after class…" Sonata's face burned.

"Oh, figured something like that." Aria snickered.

_What's THAT supposed to mean?! _She wanted to screech. But her mouth stayed shut.

"Girls, I've got plans; Big plans," Adagio continued.

"The lunchroom has to be the most populated room in the whole of Canterlot High, so, instead of going around person the person, we just start singing here."

Sonata interrupted.

"Wait, sing for what?" Aria snickered again. Adagio turned to her.

"Oh yes, I forgot that you had short term memory loss." Adagio said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Sonata wanted to slap her friends across the face, but just clenched her fists. The poster behind her instantly caused

a smile to break on her face, though.

"Guys, it's Taco Tuesday!"

Their reaction wasn't similar to hers.

"Just follow my lead!" Adagio said, rolling her eyes. Sonata noticed something flicker in Aria's eyes.

"Or mine…"

Adagio whipped around. She growled, "Never." It was Sonata's turn to snicker. Aria just scowled at her and crossed her arms.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Aria was worn out. P.E. was not her specialty. She barely had the energy to trudge to the locker rooms to shower and change for her next class. As she looked down at her schedule, her face instantly lit up. Choir.

Making her way down to room 703, she kept her eyes on the right, where the classrooms were.

889, 890, 891, 892- WHAM!

"Ouch! Hey, watch where you're going!" Aria yelled out, rubbing her forehead. She winced in pain.

"Oh, uh sorry!" The girl on the floor before me started to gather the things she had dropped. She had dark hair, purple highlights, and pale purple skin. As the girl looked up, her eyes widened.

"You're the girl in the cafeteria…" She said. Aria got up.

"Yeah, so?"

The girl just shook her head and scurried away. _Weird_. Aria thought.

"What was that?" Startled, Aria jumped around to see Adagio standing at the other end of the hallway, hands on her hips.

"Just some geek."

Adagio walked over.

"Not "_just some geek_"! Do you know who that was?!" Aria brushed off her pants, picking up her gym bag. "Uh, should I?" She asked. Adagio scoffed.

"Do NAWT tell me you're turning into Sonata now." Aria flinched at that.

"No, no. Of course not." Another scoff.

"That was Twilight Sparkle, Mini Sonata!" Adagio said. Aria crossed her arms, continuing down the hall. The anger in her was rising, and she could feel her cheeks turning redder by the second. Adagio had called her worse, of course, but it was all just getting to Aria.

She opened her mouth to snap back, but too late; Adagio was already moving on.

"Twilight Sparkle, the girl who destroyed Sunset Shimmer's magic in a matter of seconds with the Elements of Harmony. The one who I told you guys to watch out for!"

Aria glanced over at the other girl.

"Wait, does that mean she was affected by our song?"

Adagio gritted her teeth.

"Let's hope. For now, you and Sonata just avoid them, in case."

Author's note (Sorry! I know we all hate these!)

Okay, so, sorry that these last two chapters have been shorter than the first, but I'll try to make them longer. How do you like my fist story here on ? FYI, this is like the same characters and settings, but I'm heading this story in a different direction, so don't expect everything that happened in the movie. This chapter was very short, and I am SO sorry about that. I know, I know, get on with the story.

-Cath


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

There she sat, her ponytail being tugged on by the blue haired boy behind her. Sonata kicked her heel behind her, hitting him in the shin. She could hear her foot hit something hard, and looking behind her, found him tapping on his shin, smiling.

"Shin guards." He whispered.

His name was Soarin, and he sat behind Sonata in history and science, which made this hard for her in two ways: He was extremely annoying, but, extremely cute. She met him on her first day of school, when the only seat left in science was the one every girl avoided like the plague. And Sonata soon learned why.

"Shut up, you're gonna get me in trouble." She whispered back from the corner of her mouth. He tugged on her ponytail once more.

"You're hair is so soft," She heard shuffling from behind her. "Too bad."

Sonata instantly grabbed hold of her teal ponytail, and almost screamed when she felt the dripping substance hanging from the ends of her hairs. She whipped around, and was greeted with the deviously smiling Soarin, a bottle of glue in his hand.

...

"Hey. Hey. Hello?" Soarin followed her out of the classroom.

"Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey, crazy-hair." Sonata stopped dead, glaring at him.

"What do you want?" She hissed through gritted teeth, eying him. He pulled something out of his hoodie pocket.

"Here, you seem cool." He handed her an envelope, and was gone.

Sonata slowly walked to her locker, tearing it open. The first words she read were: You're invited!

_An invitation? _Sonata scrunched her nose, confused. But she was quite possibly the dumbest girl in class. Plus, they just met! And did she need to mention he glued her hair!

"Hey, what's that?" Aria appeared behind the door of Sonata's locker. Sonata quickly shoved the note into her bag.

"Nothing." Aria and Adagio didn't need to know about this. Aria eyed her in suspicion, as if trying to make up her mind. After a few seconds, which felt like a few hundred years, Aria decided to leave it.

Sonata spent the day wondering if she should tell her friends. About the party, that is. Biting the end of her eraser, she thought about why she didn't want to. Did she think they were going to make fun of her for getting an invitation from a boy? Out of all of them, she did have the least experience with dating and all of that. Then again, her friends made fun of her in everything. She then thought about if she should start adding quotations around "friends".

"Friends".


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Adagio tapped her fingers on the lunch table impatiently, glancing around the cafeteria. Aria could sense the tense atmosphere in the air, and bringing a fork to her mouth, she inhaled the sweet smell of insecurity. Adagio Dazzle wasn't insecure. No, that's impossible. But the way she was acting made Aria question her position.

Pushing a lock of orange curls from her face, Adagio revealed her perfectly sculpted face. Aria wondered if she was forever cursed with sour features, making her no match for her "leader".

"Where in Equestria is that girl?" Adagio exclaimed angrily, her finger taps getting harder. Aria looked up from the unappetizing school lunch in front of her, dropping her fork into the mess of spaghetti and green mystery meat.

"I saw her on my way here."

Adagio turned to her, finally prying her eyes of the cafeteria doors.

"And?"

"And, well, she was acting a little weird…" Adagio laughed.

"What's new?"

That's when Adagio spotted the teal blue and purple highlighted hair bobbing along the lunchline. Some guy stood behind her, jabbing her with a fork and calling her names. Sonata had gathered her hair into a hat, concealing the bad hair day Aria had missed earlier.

"There." Adagio said. Aria pushed away the tray of untouched food.

"I don't know why she even bothers standing in line for _this_." She motioned at the "food". As the kids shuffled through the line, one by one, Sonata was soon heading to the girls' table, readjusting her hat self consciously.

"Oh, hey guys." She slipped into an empty seat just as a spitball went whizzing at her head. It clung to her hat as a table full of boys nearby burst into laughter and shouts. Sonata sighed, plucking the spitball from her head.

"You know, Sonata, maybe you shouldn't be carrying around such a big target on your head." Aria snorted. Sonata shook her head.

"It's not the hat. It's just…" She shook it again.

Adagio glanced over at Aria. Is this what she meant by weird?

"Anyway, girls, I've got ideas." She brushed off the awkward moment, and pulled out her black composition notebook. Things were going as planned, and Adagio wanted to expand.

"I say we go for the city."

"What?"

"The city. We almost have the school fully in our grasp, our next stop should be the city."

"Wait, how?" Sonata knew that the city contained a lot of people, she wasn't _that_ stupid. Canterlot High didn't have nearly as many people as the whole city, but it still succeeded in being large and hard to control.

"You know, our usual sing a song, feed off negative energy."

"No, no- I mean, how are we going to get everybody under our control at _once_?" Sonata looked triumphant at the question_. Maybe she thought it was a SMART question, _Aria thought, almost laughing out loud.

"Well, maybe someone forgot we don't _need_ to get everyone at once." Adagio snapped, sensing her pride instantly swirl down the drain, never to be seen again. Sonata turned bright red.

"Oh."

Adagio shook her head.

"I need to get out of this." With that she was off, leaving behind two bewildered girls.

"The city? Seriously? Who does she think she is, anyway? I mean come on, I was just telling you about my ideas to do that exact thing the other day, wasn't I?" Aria said, stabbing her fork into her meal, splattering green mystery meat all over the white table. Sonata didn't look up from her food either.

"Uh, Sonata?" She looked up, and sniffled.

"Aria, are you my friend?" The question caught Aria off guard, and she found herself stammering an answer.

"Well, uh, I-"

"Is Adagio even my friend? You know how she is, always pushing us around, telling us what to do. And you seem to _love_ trying to prove me wrong, don't you? We certainly don't _act_ like friends." Sonata interrupted, looking across the cafeteria at the group of six laughing, playing, and overall just enjoying each other's company. The Dazzlings weren't big on that. Aria just got up from her seat.

"I'm, uh, just going to eat outside."

...

Aria played with grass below her. She pondered what Sonata had said in the cafeteria.

_'__Are you my friend?' _Of course she was, right? But as Aria thought and thought, she found herself questioning just how "friendly" friends are supposed to act. The group in the cafeteria, the six, their definition of 'friend' was different than theirs. Or, of course, Aria's definition wasn't even close to what the real thing was.

She shook her head out, easing her mind. Although her stomach growled uncontrollably, she refused to return to the cafeteria.

Suddenly, she turned to see a soccer ball whizzing towards her, making contact with her left cheek.

"Ow! Hey!" She looked up to a girl with rainbow hair that had run up to her.

"Whoa, sorry dude. But did you see how well I kicked that?!"

Aria opened her mouth to snap back, but closed it.

"Hey, are you okay?" The girl examined her closely, but Aria shook her off. "Yeah, yeah- I'm fine." She growled.

"Okay, then you wanna play some soccer?"

Soon Aria found herself on the field, playing with the girl and ball that had smacked her in the face. She looked around and saw a few people she recognized. Soarin, the boy in her homeroom, Applejack, Big Macintosh, and Twilight Sparkle.

Aria narrowed her eyes. Twilight, the girl who bumped into her in the hall. The one Adagio had warned her about. Aria remembered the conversation with Sonata. Should she listen to Adagio anyway?

"Hey, new kid!" Shaken out of her daze, she looked around to see Applejack kicking the ball towards her. Aria caught it, and imagining Adagio's face as the ball, fired it as hard as she could into the goal.

The chants of her team mates caused her to smile.

"Ar-ia! Ar-ia! Ar-ia!"

The one with rainbow hair, Rainbowdash, came up to her.

"Hey, nice goal! You got skill. Tryouts for the CHS soccer team are next week, you there?" Aria smiled.

"I guess I am."


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

"Sonata Dusk, can I see you after class, please?" Sonata groaned when she heard her name being called by the teacher.

"Uh, yes, Mrs. Trent?" She asked warily, walking over to the teacher's desk.

"Ms. Dusk, your grades are concerning me." Sonata almost foresaw that one. Most of her teachers had already confronted her with that line. The teacher opened her desk and pulled out a form.

"So, I am assigning you a math tutor." She said, sliding the paper to Sonata. Sonata looked down, scanning the paper intently.

"What? You can't do that!" She exclaimed.

"I am your math teacher; I can, and I will." Mrs. Trent stared at Sonata through the glasses sitting on the tip of her pointed nose.

"You will meet with Ms. Twilight Sparkle after school on Mondays and Wednesday, in my room."

Twilight Sparkle. Now there's a name Sonata knew she knew. But from where? It sounded so familiar, and Sonata wondered if it was important. Maybe her friends were right, maybe she did have short term memory loss… Wait, "friends".

"I'm just going to need you to sign this form, and give it back to me as soon as possible." Sonata was shooed out of the room (thankfully), and she trudged to her locker. A math tutor? She didn't even _need_ math! She knew for a fact that once Adagio was done doing whatever here, they were off to the pony world again. Ugh, Adagio. Her "friend".

...

Just as she tried her combination three times and finally opened her locker, a hand slammed it shut again. Right when she saw the blue hair she sighed. Sonata really didn't need Soarin on top of all this.

"So, read the letter?" He asked. She pulled the crumpled envelope out of the bottom of her bag.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to throw it away." She then threw it at his face.

_1 point for Sonata! _She thought with pride. If only Aria was there; She wasn't the only one who had smart, snarky come backs.

"Hey!" He bent down to pick it up, and when he rose, Sonata was gone. Soarin raced after her.

"Hey, hey! You coming?" He asked, finally catching up to her.

"Why would I want to go to some frat boy party, were people get drunk and regret everything that happened the night before?" She said, turning towards him. Adagio and Aria had warned her all about high school before they arrived.

"Oh, come on! Flash's parents will be there, so it's all cool!" Soarin pleaded. She raised an eyebrow.

"I'll take that as a yes! See you there, crazy hair!" He handed her the envelope, and was gone as he rounded the corner. Sonata just stood there in the hallway. That's when she realized she hadn't even read the whole thing yet. Opening the envelope and card inside, she started to actually read it:

You're invited! Come have fun and bring your friends to Flash Century's birthday bash! Friday, September 6th, after the big soccer game!

7754, Silver oak lane

Phone: 021-669-411-53

E-mail: flash_Century

BYOB

Sonata tilted her head at the last part. She then noticed the word at the bottom of the card.

Sonata. In Soarin's handwriting. With a heart instead of the 'o'.

A blush instantly creeped up her neck toward her cheeks. Suddenly a hand snatched the card out of her hands, and Sonata snapped her head up to find Aria standing there, the card dangling in her fingertips.

"Ha! I knew something was going on with you!" She read the words as Sonata struggled to get it back.

"Ooh! A boy is it?" Aria smirked.

"Give that back!"

"Wait, YOU'RE invited to a party?!" Sonata crossed her arms.

"Why? Is there something wrong with that?"

"Sona, do you even know what "BYOB" stands for?" Aria asked, handing the note back to Sonata.

"Uh… Yeah, of course I do."

Aria just placed her hands on her hips. "And you didn't even tell us!"

Sonata was getting angry.

"Why, exactly, do I need to tell you guys?! You _don't_ control my life, and you certainly _aren't_ good friends! And anyway,_ I_ was the one who was invited,_ not_ you, so that has to prove something, right?!" Aria shut up after that, in awe at the sudden break out. Sonata winced in hesitation. Maybe that was a little harsh.

"Um, you're not going to tell Adagio, are you?" She asked a little quieter. Aria turned to leave.

"Of course not, that's not what friends are for."

...

Sonata decided to take the bus. For the past week, she and the other Dazzlings had always walked to their head quarters (an abandoned tree house they found in the woods), but she didn't really feel like seeing them right now anyway.

The bus grumbled along the road as a few boys in the back attempted rocking the bus.

"We will, we will, rock you! Yeah!" The shouts from the back caused Sonata to cover her ears, until she heard a familiar voice. Turning around in her seat, she got on her knees for a better look, and there sat the pale blue Soarin, singing right along with the others. After a couple of seconds, he noticed the pair of purple eyes on him, and waved to her.

"Hey, Crazy hair! I didn't know you rode this bus!" He said, coming over and plopping down on the seat across the aisle from her.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't have if I knew you were." She said. _2 points to "Crazy Hair"! _

"Ha! That's funny!" He laughed. "Hey, you know your friend? The one with the purple hair?" Sonata frowned.

"What about her?"

"Well, she's a wicked soccer player!" After that, Sonata started to laugh.

"Hey, maybe you've got the wrong purple haired girl; My Aria has never touched a soccer ball in her life!" Saorin shrugged.

"Well, she seemed like she's been playing for years." Soon, Sonata was left alone again, giving her time to think.

Aria? A soccer player? Sonata wasn't the only one keeping secrets.


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

"Okay, now to Rapid!" Rainbowdash called out as Aria passed the ball to Rapidfire. Rapidfire was the boy in Aria's homeroom, who turned out to be quite the soccer player. His orange hair danced through the wind as he started down the field in a fast sprint.

Soccer tryouts were in ten minutes, and she and the gang (not the Dazzlings) were practicing on the field before the coach got there. As the sun shone brightly on the three kids, Aria couldn't have felt brighter. Here she was, playing her new favorite hobby, with her new friends. Everything was perfect; Sun, cool breeze, birds chirping.

"So, you ready for the team?" Rapidfire asked, dribbling the ball around a few orange cones. She shrugged.

"I guess."

"Well you're going to have to be more sure than that. Coach Warren is a tough man." He replied. He hit the ball into the net, throwing his fists in the air triumphantly.

"You'll do fine," Rainbowdash said. "You've obviously got talent, and I personally think you're going to be the best one there."

Aria smiled. Her new friends were the best. They encouraged her, made her laugh (and not in a bad way), helped her out, and were actually _friendly_. Everyone was equal, no one fighting for the position as Alpha, and Aria was _not_ going to miss her days as 'just the Beta'.

"Hey! Coah's here!" Soarin called to the girls, and Aria turned to see a large man with a group of kids trailing behind enter the field. The man she assumed was Coach Warren stood tall and strong, with broad shoulders and large muscles. His brown hair tufted out from under a baseball cap, and in his right hand he held a clipboard. Aria gulped.

"Okay, welcome to soccer tryouts for the CHS Wonderbolts,"

"That's our team name." Rainbowdash whispered.

"Now, only about half of you will make it onto the team this year, seeing how many have shown up. First, Spitfire, lead the trainees to two laps around the field."

Spitfire nodded, and glanced at Rapidfire. Due to her flaming orange hair and blazing eyes, Aria guessed some relativity. As the group finished with their two laps, Aria felt like she was going to pass out. Coach Warren pulled out his whistle.

"Okay newbies, this is how it's going to go down; You're going to announce your name and age, what position/positions you want to play, and then I'll have Spitfire here test your skills."

Gulp. Aria hadn't even thought about what position she wanted to play. There was only one position she really knew. She turned to Rapidfire.

"Hey, am I going for goalie?" She asked. Rapidfire looked at her incredulously.

"No, no! You want to go for a striker." All he got in response was a blank face.

"You have a good, strong kick, and you're dodging is remarkable. You want to be one of the guys that's in the middle of the field, you know? The ones who take the ball first and spend most of their time on the rival team's side."

Aria nodded. She didn't admit it, but she was completely lost. As she got closer and closer to being up, the nervous sweat that had broken out got worse and worse.

"Crescent Moon."

"Fleetfoot."

"Surprise."

"Misty Fly."

"Fire streak."

"Blaze."

"High winds."

Soon, she stood at the head of the line, the kids behind her waiting their turn anxiously.

"Okay, next!"

Aria's mouth went dry as she approached the coach timidly.

"Name." More of a statement than a question.

"Aria Blaze."

"Okay Miss Blaze, and what position?" This was it. Wait, what had Rapidfire said earlier? Something about striking… Suddenly, Aria's head went blank as she fumbled with words.

"I-uh-well, t-the- um-" Warren raised a questioning eyebrow. She was dripping sweat now, and so instantly blurted-

"Goalie!"

The coach scribbled something down on his clipboard.

"Okay Blaze, you are excused."

Now came the hard part. Everybody was gathered into groups of what position they wanted to play. Rapidfire shot her a confused look when she was ushered over to the goalkeeper group containing only two other kids.

One of them had crazy, blue and white streaked hair, bearing the widest smile in all of Equestria. It made Aria uncomfortable; She wasn't much of a smiler. The other looked promising, though. He stood with his arms folded across his chest, looking like he didn't have a care in the world. He leaned against a metal post on the goal, and looked up when Aria approached.

"Hey."

He merely acknowledged her with a curt nod. His brown hair draped over his forehead in a side bang way, and had light brown skin. Aria glanced at the nametag coach Warren had given insisted on- Crescent Moon.

"Okay, goalies! You're with me!" Coach Warren's thundering voice called, startling Aria.

"Okay, you there; High Winds." The other girl with crazy hair stepped up eagerly.

"Let's see what you've got." Coach Warren blew his whistle with all the air in his lungs it seemed, and was soon shooting balls at a rapid pace, firing them into at the girl inside. Aria gulped. Crescent Moon looked over at her, noticing the nervousness.

"Scared?" He said. Aria turned towards him.

"What? Me? No way." She focused her attention back at the action, inhaling deeply. If this guy could smell her fear, what about Coach Warren?

The girl, High Winds, was actually pretty good. She caught or deflected every single one of the raging shots from Coach Warren. Soon Crescent Moon was up. He was good too, but not as good as High Winds.

Aria gulped once more. She wondered if it would be her last.

"Okay, last but not least, Blaze."

She timidly took place in front of the white net. She bent her knees and held out her hands like she'd seen the other two do.

_'__Okay, breathe in, breathe out. You can do this; You WILL do-' _

Aria's thoughts were cut off as a white and black object whizzed by her head. Startled, she jumped just as another was shot at her, barely missing her side. They were going so fast, she couldn't keep up. As two more slipped behind her and into the goal, she finally came to her senses. Coach Warren raised his leg, indicating that he was shooting the next to the right. She instantly dived to her right. Before she knew it, she was laying on the grass, mud splattered on her clothes, and the ball in the net on her left.

She tripped trying to get up, but found her balance again. She nodded to go on. The next one came so fast Aria barely knew what was happening until the ball hit her in the gut forcefully. Stumbling backwards, she fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of her.


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

The door before her seemed to loom in an eerie light cast by the remorse of kids that had come before. It threatened her with its silver, slightly crooked name block that hung on it, its tinted window that showed herself staring into the nervous wreck she was. She gulped, reaching for the handle with a sweaty palm-

"Hey, Crazy hair!" The sound of his voice spun Sonata around.

"Oh, uh, hey Soarin." She muttered, casting her eyes down. He smiled at her with all of his teeth.

"You coming to the big game on Friday?" He asked. Sonata looked up.

"Tomorrow?!" She thought the game was further than that. He just laughed.

"Tomorrow's Tuesday!" She laughed with him nervously. Wait, so Friday _didn't_ come after Monday?

"Uh, I don't know." She said, answering his question. He just shrugged. "Hey, uh, wanna hang, you know, at like soccer practice today?"

Sonata gave him a startled look. Wait, did he just ask her to 'hang'? Soarin was quite possibly the last person she wanted to hang with. Besides for Twilight Sparkle, the girl with the familiar name… Sonata nodded at the door in front of her.

"I uh, have a math tutoring session." She said. Soarin looked hurt, but pretended to shrug it off. "Math, huh?"

Sonata nodded slowly. Soarin just shrugged again, and then left her in the hallway alone. She reached for the handle and inhaled. It was now or never.

"Ah, here she is!" Mrs. Trent exclaimed as Sonata swung the door open. Sonata forced a smile, her lips pinched. A girl with dark hair and purple highlights stood before Mrs. Trent's desk glancing over at Sonata with a professional nod. Sonata just stood there. It was all coming back. Twilight Sparkle. The girl who Adagio had an unexplained hatred to.

"Miss Dusk, meet Twilight Sparkle. I believe you share my math class." Mrs. Trent introduced the two girls and got up with a folder in her hands.

"Oh, Sonata, do you have that permission slip?" Sonata pulled the retched paper from her bag. "Here."

Mrs. Trent took it from her hands with long, lean fingers that were painted blood red on the nails. Adagio signed the permission slip with a laugh.

"Ha! Math tutoring! I told you high school would be hard." She had cackled. Aria, sitting in a beanbag reading a magazine, snorted.

"For_ her_."

Sonata could feel her cheeks going red after that memory. Twilight smiled at her, holding out a hand. "Hi! I'm Twilight." Sonata didn't know what to do. What did people do when they stuck their hands out again? Then it hit her. She put out her own hand, and waved. Twilight brought down her hand in confusion.

_'__Okay, that wasn't right…'_ Sonata thought, embarrassed. She glanced around the room. Twilight must've pushed together two desks for the tutoring session. Sonata took a seat in one of those desks, wrapping her bag around the seat of the chair. Mrs. Trent walked towards the door with the folder in her hands.

"Okay girls, I'll be going. I trust I can rely on you to get down to business? No fooling around?" She said sternly. Twilight nodded her head. Soon, Mrs. Trent was gone, and the two girls sat in the classroom, silent. Twilight was the first to break it.

"Okay, let's get started then." She placed a pile of books onto the double desk and sat herself down on next to Sonata. Sonata pulled out her own notebook, pencil and easer. She sighed at the eraser. It had been the joke of the day on their school shopping trip.

"Oh, look Sonata! You'll need one of these!" Aria had said in a mocking voice, picking up one of those huge erasers (you know, for "big mistakes"). Adagio walked up, smirking.

"What? She'll need twelve!"

Sonata was just glad they didn't get her the big one. Or twelve. What sat in front of her was just a plain, white eraser. Twilight opened one of the textbooks to a page with a neon tab stuck to it.

"Okay, so I was thinking; We should start off with the basics, you know?" Sonata glanced at the page and groaned. Multiplying? Was this a textbook for second graders? She looked at the pile of books on the desk; _Beginning Math_, _The World of Math Fourth Grader Edition_, _Intro to Math_, _Math for the Slower Student_. Slower student?

"I think I know how to multiply." Sonata said. She didn't. She got stumped on the first problem. And she apparently didn't know her multiplication tables either.

"Okay, look; Multiplying is just a number however many times. So, if you had three times four, that's three, four times…" Sonata let Twilight drone on as she turned her attention out the window. Mrs. Trent's room sat on the third floor, overlooking the soccer field. Down on the grass, soccer tryouts were being held. And if she squinted, Sonata thought she could see the purple, pink tailed hair of Aria Blaze. Wait, was Soarin telling the truth back on the bus? She didn't know if she could trust anything he said, but that small figure did look and awful lot like her. She turned back to Twilight at that moment, because she had stopped talking.

"I agree." She said. Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"I just asked you a question." She said.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Of course. Uh, wh-what…" Sonata fumbled with words as she tried to respond to that. Twilight nodded.

"I understand. Sometimes I myself get distracted." She explained. Sonata tilted her head.

"No, you?"

Twilight Sparkle, admitting she wasn't the perfect student? Twilight laughed, shutting the textbook.

"Everyone has their flaws!"

Sonata had never looked at it that way.

_'__I guess nobody's perfect,'_ She thought, smiling to herself.

"Well, you know, I'm not exactly the sharpest tool in the, uh, place where they keep tools," Sonata admitted. "My friends were always making fun of me for it too." Twilight shook her head.

"Maybe they aren't your real friends then." She said. Sonata was smiling fully now.

"I've been thinking about that…" The silence was back. And boy was it awkward.

"You know, I've got terrible breath in the morning." Twilight said in a very serious manner. "I mean terrible! So terrible, it's sad." Suddenly the two girls broke out laughing.

…..

"And then, she says, 'No! If you spill milk on your pants and have to go home, then I do too!'" Twilight said, wrapping the story up. "And so, we all leave the party. But that's not all; We all have milk stains on our pants now!" She finishes, giggling at the memory. Sonata sat at her desk, chin in her hands.

"Wow, your friends sound amazing." She said with a sigh. She checked the wall clock. But then turned to Twilight's digital watch when she realized she couldn't read analogue.

4:15. Darn.

Twilight followed her gaze and her face dropped. The two had been talking like best friends, and neither of them wanted to leave. Twilight packed up her stuff never the less.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." She waved goodbye, and was gone. Sonata followed, picking up her things and walking out. She was greeted at the door.

"Hey Crazy Hair."


	9. Author's Note (Sorry!)

Author's Note (sorry!)

Okay, so I am EXTREMELY sorry for this guys! I know, I know; Everybody hates Author's Notes, but I just wanted to thank all of you.

Now, if anybody out there DID actually read to the terms of use (hehe), then you know you're not allowed to update chapters as Author's Notes, but I see it all the time, and I'm willing to take the risk. Okay, so, back to my point; I really want to thank all of you that are reading this. You guys gave me a chance, and that's something I am so grateful for. I know the first few chapters didn't have all that many words, and I also know that sometimes people can stop reading because of said reason. But all of you AWESOME readers and reviewers gave me a chance, and I picked up my feet and starting writing a bit more for each chapter after browsing through some stories. I am relatively new to FanFiction, but I will not use that as an excuse. I just wanted to say, you guys really gave me the encouragement I needed to start my "career" on here! So, thank for continuing to read after the first not-so-great chapters, and sorry for writing this instead of a new chapter. I'll try to get that up soon!

Well, I guess that means good bye! Cath out!

P.S.

I usually try to add the AU's onto chapters so that people don't get discouraged, but I just had to get this out. I'll try to add the next few (if there are any) on the chapters, and sorry if you wanted the ninth chapter instead! That'll be up next!


	10. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

"Soarin?" Sonata's mouth dropped. What was _he_ doing here?

"I, uh, had soccer practice," He said slowly. His hair was looking wild and his uniform was stained with mud. Sonata didn't have to guess he was at practice. She also noticed how cute he looked with his hair like that, and that mud on his cheek was- Ack! Why was she even thinking about how cute he was?

"And you know your friend, Aria? Well, she was kinda knocked unconscious…" Soarin continued. Sonata shook her head._ What?_

"You mean, purple haired Aria?"

Soarin shrugged. "Do you know any other Aria's?" Sonata shook her head again. This time in disbelief.

"How?" She immediately asked.

"Well, she was in the goal," _So that WAS her on the field! _ "And while she was blocking balls, one hit her in the stomach and then I guess she just fainted." Soarin said. Sonata couldn't believe it. She also couldn't imagine the Aria she knew laying on the grass, beaten. She was always acting all tough, but now look at her; Totally owned at soccer. Soarin gulped awkwardly.

"Well, where is she now?" Sonata asked.

"She's on her way home; The activities bus just left…" He replied. She gasped.

"Wait: _Just left_?!" She exclaimed looking out of the hall window to see the school parking lot empty. No trace of the activity bus. She almost fainted. How in Equestria was she going to get home? The bus ride to the tree house was long anyway, and she couldn't imagine walking. Sonata turned to Soarin suddenly.

"Wait, what about you?" She was pretty sure he took the activity bus too. The boy just shrugged, looking down at his shoes.

"I thought you might want to know about your friend, so…"

"So you missed the bus?" Nobody had done anything like that for her before, and she found it hard to accept. "What? How could you be so stupid?! What kind of idiot misses a bus to tell someone about their friend? You know you could've told me on the bus! And now we're both gonna have to walk!" To her surprise, Soarin looked up, smiling.

"Thank god, I thought you were going to go all sappy on me! But here's the Sonata we all love!" All she could do was roll her eyes at him. "Plus, you would've missed the bus anyway," He then smiled deviously. "And who said we were walking?"

...

Sonata took one look at the vehicle and frowned.

"No; I do _not_ do motorcycles." She hissed through gritted teeth. She had a right to be angry; Soarin was the reason she missed the bus. She didn't care how much he protested. She was sure she would've caught it if he hadn't held her.

The two stood in the door way of a shed behind the school. The shed had always stood alone, looking gloomy and secretive, and Sonata had always thought it was just an empty shed. Nope, this was where Soarin stored all of the stuff he needs at school, but is not allowed. Take, for example, his bike. He kept it in there to ride home if he ever missed the bus. Like today. How he got the shed was anybody's quess.

Soarin grabbed a helmet and pair of goggles from a hook on the wall.

"Oh come on, Crazy hair. Your hair won't get any crazier from riding on a bike." Sonata was starting to wonder if he knew her real name. He tossed her the helmet and slipped the goggles onto his own head. Sonata had never ridden on a bike before. It was something The Dazzlings never needed to know. Soarin hopped onto the seat, making just enough space to fit another person behind him.

"I am not getting on that thing." She said, but she knew there was no other way. Saorin placed the goggles on top of his eyes.

"Well, when you find another way home call me." He said, smiling. Sonata gritted her teeth harder. Boy, how she hated it when he smiled at her like that. Was it because it was extremely annoying in the first place, or that it made her stomach all warm and fuzzy? Never the less, she reluctantly climbed onto the motorcycle and adjusted her helmet. It was too big for her, assuming it was for Soarin's head.

"Okay, you might want to hold onto something." He cautioned. Sonata was_ so_ not listening to the boy who got her into this mess, but when he booted the bike up and they were off, she found herself gripping as tightly as she could onto Soarin's soccer jersey. She blushed at how close they were, and scooted back an inch, expanding the empty gap of comfort that was the only thing keeping this from becoming the most awkward thing she'd ever done. She could feel the wind blowing relaxingly through her hair, and the breeze that slapped into her face was painful in an enjoyable way.

"See? Isn't this great?" Soarin called in front of her. Sonata just growled at him, but inside felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

...

Ten minutes after they had departed the school, Sonata felt the motorcycle slowing. She looked around her, noticing how her surroundings became clear. They were no longer whizzing past everything. She heard Soarin cursing, and took that as a bad sign. She tapped him on the back.

"Everything okay up there?" She asked. Soarin turned to her, a nervous expression on his face. "Uh, well, we might've run out of gas…" He braced himself for the rage to kick in. It came sooner than expected. Soon, Sonata was whacking him with the helmet, yelling.

"Who forgets to fill up their gas before leaving?! Oh, yeah- IDIOTS, that's who! I shouldn't be surprised, you _are_ a dim witted twerp who keeps people from getting on their bus!"

"Oh, come on! Are we still arguing about that?" Soarin smiled, and Sonata smacked him again. He jumped off the bike, and handed Sonata his goggles.

"Here; Make yourself useful."

She tilted her head.

"What're you doing?" She asked as he walked to the back of the bike, placing his hands on the rear. Then, he started to push the vehicle forward with a grunt. Sonata's face filled with understanding, and she immediately jumped off.

"No way; You are not pushing this bike all the way home." She crossed her arms and placed the helmet and goggles into the basket up front. Soarin shook his head.

"I'm only pushing it to the nearest gas station." He said smartly. Sonata shot him a glare. "And from my calculations, that's about fifteen miles away." Soarin rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah, and when have your calculations ever been right?" He said. Sonata flinched. That stung, a lot. She already knew she wasn't that bright, and didn't need everyone reminding her 24/7. When she didn't respond. When Soarin realized how harsh his words had been, he winced, wondering if it was a little too harsh.

"Look, Sonata…"

She didn't even look at him. She turned, jutting her nose up.

"Fine; You wanna push that? Go ahead." And with that she briskly walked off, her arms crossed and muttering. Soarin looked after her in exasperation.

"Sonata? Sonata! Come on!" But she didn't stop or look back at him.

Author's note

Okay! So how did you like that chapter? Sorry it was kind of slow, but I didn't know how to proceed with how Chapter eight ended, so I think this was just a chapter for playing around with Soarin and Sonata's relationship. Well, please don't get mad at me for such a dragging chapter! Oh yeah, and I finally figured out how to indicate that it's a new setting/ paragraph thing (Ack! Can't explain it! Now I have those three ...), so sorry for any confusion in previous chapters!

-Cath


	11. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

"Good afternoon CHS! This is Sunset Shimmer with your afternoon announcements!"

Sunset's voice echoed through the halls and blared through the PA systems in the classrooms on the rainy Tuesday at CHS. Aria sat in her seminar, her head pressed against the cool glass of the window and watching the drops of rain slide down and then eventually explode as they hit the window's pane. She stared at the soccer field below, distorted by the drops of rain. She blew it. And she was never getting a second chance.

"Tomorrow's lunch will be tuna salad, banana bread, apples and your choice of beverage. Just a reminder; Students are prohibited to use the shed in the back of the school. Some big events coming up; CHS's first annual 'Battle of the Bands' is in two weeks, so get those applications in before Friday! Our big game against the Philly High Dragons is_ this_ Friday, also the first game for our newly formed soccer team, the CHS Wonderbolts!"

Aria groaned.

"Will the following students report to the main office right after school lets out; Lyra Heartstrings and Aria Blaze. I repeat, that's Lyra Heartstrings and Aria Blaze. Oh, and a happy birthday to one of our beloved school teachers, Dr. Hooves!"

Aria looked up at the last part. About her going to her office, not Dr. Hooves. Why would she be called to the front office?

A few minutes after the PA crackled back off, the bell rung throughout the school, signaling that they could be set free. Aria picked up her stuff, heading out the door in a daze. She hoped she wasn't in trouble. It wasn't like her to be such a goody two shoes, but lately she's been skeptical about a few things. Like her position in the school. It was always Adagio this, and Adagio that, why couldn't _her_ name be whispered through the halls and in the girls bathroom? Why did- Suddenly, she smacked right into the orange haired Alpha that stood waiting for her at her locker.

'_Speak of the devil_.' Aria muttered to herself. Adagio had her hands on her hips and did not look happy at all. ' _Then again, when is she_?_' _

"Aria."

Aria gulped, but tried to hide her fear, masking her face with the fakest smile she could muster. "Oh, hey Adagio!"

The other girl showed no hint of joy back. She just raised an eyebrow, as if saying I-know-that-you-know. Aria brushed past her, reaching for her locker. Adagio didn't budge.

"Aria, where have you been?"

Aria didn't take her eyes off her lock. "Whad'ya mean?"

"Where. Have. You. Been?" Adagio spit the last part. "We both know you weren't helping with our, um,_ plan_. And have you seen Sonata lately? She's been disappearing quite a bit too. Is there something I don't know about?"

_So much_. "As if you cared about us." Aria said instead, twisting the dial with force.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Adagio didn't seem convinced. Aria swung her locker open, grabbed her bag and belongings, and turned to her "leader".

"I gotta go to the office, so I guess I'll see you around." She said tightly, forcing another smile and then walking off briskly. Adagio started to protest, but Aria was gone before she heard anything.

...

The main office wasn't a sight for sore eyes. Most kids tended to avoid it at all costs, because of the cold and unsettling feeling it gave you when you walked through the tinted windows. Aria always felt uneasy when she passedby the doors, teachers could be looking at you without you even knowing. "That's Aria Blaze." "She dresses like a hooker." "I can't believe she styles her hair like that." "What is it with kids these days?"

It was just plain creepy.

The office was run by old women in wheeled chairs that sat at their computer all day, typing their fingers away. The clickity-click of the keyboard was the only sound in the room, along with the tick of the clock high on the wall. Aria breathed in the atmosphere; Soap, hard candy, musty cardigans, stale perfume. And then there was men's Axe.

She turned suddenly, her eyes falling on the boy in the soccer team, Soarin, sitting in one of the waiting chairs. He smiled at her, but she just scowled back. He wasn't one of Aria's favorite teammates. Or, ex-teammates. It hurt a little when she saw the blue jersey he sported, reminding her of the team she could've made.

"Aria! Aria Blaze! Crazy-hair's friend!" He said. Aria rolled her eyes.

"What do_ you_ want?"

Soarin stood up, grabbing his gym bag. "I_ need_ you to come with me."

Aria scoffed. "As if."

"Coach's giving you another chance."

Aria snapped her head at him, suddenly interested. Soarin laughed.

"I knew that would get your attention."

Aria shook her head. "He's giving me another chance? What? Why?"

Soarin shrugged, walking out of the front door with Aria trailing behind. "Your friend, Rainbow, she convinced him of it I guess."

She swung her hood over her head as they stepped into the rain. Soarin, not having a hood, propped his bag up, making a shield over his blue hair. She followed him to the gymnasium, where the sound of kids shouting and the coach's whistle could be heard from outside.

Before going in, Soarin stopped her, grabbing her arm.

"Hey, uh, you're Craz- Sonata's friend, right?"

"Yeah…" She nodded slowly. He fidgeted.

"Well, could'ya, like talk to her for me?"

She was about to ask how, when the steel doors swung open and there stood Rapidfire.

"Oh! Hey, Aria! We've been expecting you." He said, motioning for the two to step inside. Grateful from getting out of the rain, Aria quickly bustled in, shaking drops of water off her body. Looking around the gym, she recognized a few kids from tryuts. There was Spitfire, Crescent Moon, Fleetfoot, and High Winds in the goal.

She turned to Rapidfire, puzzled. "Where is everybody?"

This couldn't be the whole soccer team, could it? Soarin just shook his head.

"After we picked fifteen kids, most of them dropped out instantly, for some reason."

"Dropped out? What? Why?"

The two just shrugged. Aria couldn't believe it. How were they going to play with seven people? She turned to Rapidfire.

"How many players are required to play in a game?"

Rapidfire sighed. "Eleven."

That was when Coach Warren noticed her from his position on the bleachers.

"Aria!" He exclaimed, loud enough for everybody in the gym to drop whatever they were doing and stare. She cursed the coach under her breath, giving a small wave. Coach Warren walked over, clipboard in hand.

"Aria, I want you to tryout again." He explained. "Your friend has told me all about you, and I think you would benefit from being on our team. Just, not as a goalie, right?"

Aria nodded sheepishly, her face burning.

"Okay, well, you're automatically on the team." He smiled, handing her the blue uniform identical to what everybody else was wearing. She turned the jersey over to see the number six and the name Blaze written in bold, black letters.

"You already had a jersey ready for me?" She asked. Soarin smiled.

"Nah, we just scribbled your name on last minute."

...

Aria soon found out that High Winds made the team as the goalie. Crescent Moon didn't make it, but Coach saw potential in him and placed him as a midfielder. Aria was passing the ball to him now. She passed with ease, despite the booties she sported on her feet. She could hear Crescent Moon snorting.

"Nice shoes."

Aria was taken aback from the remark. He ignores her at tryouts, and the first thing he says to her is some sarcastic comment that really wasn't necessary.

"For your information, I was called up randomly to play soccer. I don't just carry around a pair of cleats with me."

He just shrugged, passing back. She was tempted to push further, but kept her big mouth shut. _'Boys!'_

She was happy to be on the team. Overjoyed, really. It was all she wanted in the first place, and was thrilled to finally be there. But if they wanted to play in the game this Friday, they were going to need some more players. Right then, Coach blew his whistle, signaling the end of practice. Then again, he did blow that whistle a lot. The kids sprinted over to him.

"Okay guys, good work. But you know the rules for soccer; You need at least eleven people on the field to play, so I wanna see some new recruits from you guys, okay? Tell your friends, put up flyers, do something, but we need some players before Thursday."

Aria could hear the discouragement in the group. So could coach.

"Come on guys! We only need two more players!"

But everybody knew they needed a lot more than that. They were going to need people on the bench, too. What if one of them got injured during the game? What if one of them just collapsed in exhaustion? Then what? Were they disqualified for lack of players? Aria sighed. This was going to be a hard season for the Wonderbolts.

...

Author's Note (Apologies and New stories! Please read)

Hey guys! I'm back, and I am so very sorry I haven't updated in like, a bajillion years! But I had a lot of Christmas shopping and this huge History assignment to finish before Winter Break, so I couldn't fit in anytime to update. But now it's Winter break, and that means loads of free time! And, as a Christmas present from me to you wonderful readers, I will be releasing a new story! Oh, I don't exactly know what of yet, but you guys can suggest stories in the reviews section, and whatever has the most suggestions I will write a fanfiction on! Something I know though, okay? Just check out my profile for ideas! And don't expect the story to be out ON Christmas Day (Thursday), but sometime around/after then, because Christmas is for spending time with your family, right? Don't worry; You guys are still my second family!

Happy Holidays -Cath


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